


Skating Lessons

by Just_a_fan37



Series: The Last Great American Dynasty [2]
Category: Little Women (2019), Little Women Series - Louisa May Alcott
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28394220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_a_fan37/pseuds/Just_a_fan37
Summary: Little Bess is ready to take her first skating lesson. Laurie is excited, but Amy is not sure it’s a good idea. Maybe it is her overprotective nature, but maybe it is old unpleasant memories.
Relationships: Theodore Laurence/Amy March
Series: The Last Great American Dynasty [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079546
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Skating Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year!  
> I guess you can consider this a little snippet inside A True Gentlewoman AU, now it's part of a series called The Last Great American Dynasty! Although you don't have to read the previous one to understand this one.

**Concord, Massachusetts, 1879**

Four-year-old Bess Laurence woke up more excited than ever. Her grandpa had gifted her first pair of skates! As the youngest of the March-Laurence-Brooke family, she usually stayed close to her parents as she watched the older children play on the ice. Even little Teddy tried it last year and looked so happy with his father. They took the kids from Plumfield too and together it was a joyful party in the frozen river. 

Laurie was excited to teach his princess skating, but he also noticed Amy’s reaction when she saw the gift. It was fear. Amy was a protective mother, some might call her over-protective. He understood. He could be overprotective too. Bess had been such a frail baby, born premature, always sick. It was as if she was taking after her namesake. The eight months she stayed in Amy’s womb had been excruciating, every day praying that God didn’t take this angel away from them, he already had enough from them. They thought that ended after birth. It didn’t. She was so tiny, tinier than most babies. During the first months of her life, her parents would wake up constantly to check her breathing. They would shiver every time she had a fever. The possibility of losing her was so real, especially because they knew she was going to be their only child. Actually, that’s why the whole family pampered her so much, especially her grandpa. He missed the chance to know baby-Laurie, so he wasn’t saving any love for the little princess that sat on his knees as he read her stories. 

Reaching her first birthday was a milestone for them. 

Now the girl was healthier than ever, growing up quickly and beautiful. Soon she would be taking over her mother’s title of the belle of the town, Amy was sure of it. She inherited the best traits from both her parents. No one had a shred of doubt that Amy and Laurie’s baby would be gorgeous. But when Amy saw she had Laurie’s nose and mouth, she was convinced there couldn’t be a more lovely child on earth. She was already popular among the kids in Plumfield. And she enjoyed it. Laurie already claimed _Like mother, like daughter._ Amy rolled her eyes, though she knew he was right. They will have to take care of every possible suitor. 

Anyway, there was no longer the threat of losing their precious child. However, that was only half a reason as to why Amy looked so scared. 

“She’ll be fine, Amy,” Laurie reassured her as they got ready for the day.

“Maybe we should wait another year.”

“My lady, she’s ready. And she already saw the skates. She’s been anxious to try it herself since her second Christmas.” Amy sighed. She wanted to argue more against it, but she didn’t have many arguments, other than her own phobia of freezing water. “The ice is as thick as can be, everything will be alright. I’ll be holding her the whole time.” Laurie continued, aware of Amy’s fear. 

“Alright, I’ll get her ready.” She gave in, because as much fear as she held inside her, she knew it talked more about her than any potential danger Bess could be in. Besides, she once suffered from being the youngest and was left out of the fun. She hated it. It hurt so much when Jo said she couldn't go to the theater or any party because she was too young and her sisters wanted to have fun, not babysit. She didn’t want Bess to feel the same way ever. 

  
  


“Mama!”

“Hey, sweet girl. Merry Christmas, my darling.” Laurie heard her two favorite persons greet each other. 

  
  


After breakfast, they joined the family near the lake. Jo’s Robert was already on the ice with Daisy and Demi. 

“Good morning, Laurie. Amy” Friedrich greeted them. “Hello, Bess.”

“Oh, you look adorable!” Marmee exclaimed. Amy passed the girl to her grandma. She was wearing her new dress, a gift from one of Laurie’s friends in Italy. 

“Teddy!” They heard Jo calling them. “Come on!” she gestured as she finished preparing little Teddy and handing him to Friedrich.

Amy sat beside her mother and put Bess on her knees while Laurie kneel in front to put Bess’ skates on. 

“Be careful,” Amy reminded him. 

“I will be. Don’t worry,” Laurie kissed her temple and took his daughter. “Ready, sweetheart?” Bess nodded excitedly. 

“It’s going to be fine, Amy,” Marmee said.

“That’s what Laurie kept telling me all morning. I can’t help but feel uneasy.” She said, not taking her eyes from Bess. It was no secret that Amy was scared. After the incident, she refused to get near the lake. Every winter they would ask her to go with them, and every winter she refused. Jo tried harder than anyone, feeling guilty for not warning her. Amy kept telling her she was fine, that it hadn’t been her fault. Amy was convinced it had been a sort of karma. The truth is, had she been in Jo’s place, she would have done the same. They were a pair of hot-heads, which put them into that situation in the first place. Thank God they had learned to communicate better.

“You’re a mother.”

“Does it ever go away?”

“No,” Marmee answered sincerely with a light smile. “There is so much we can do. We raised you all the best we could, eventually, we have to let you make your own decisions. But the worry never stops.”

“Do you worry about us a lot?”

“All I wanted is for each and every one of you to be happy. I guess for boys it’s different, but with girls, you always worry they’d find good men. And you have.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty great. We’re so lucky, aren’t we?” She smiled seeing the three men playing with their kids. They really belong to a rare species, and they couldn’t be more different from the others. Amy would constantly hear her friends' complaints about their husbands. Laurie wasn’t perfect, for sure. They would argue every now and then, but nothing that would threaten their marriage in the least. He was a true partner to her and she knew Friedrich and John were the same for her sisters. 

“They’re lucky,” someone interjected.

“Oh Hannah,” Amy looked at the maid - more like a second mother - taking her place at Marmee’s other side.

  
  


After another hour of fun, little Bess returned to her mamma. “Oh, sweety. Did you have fun?”

“Can we come tomorrow, mama?”

“Of course, honey.”

“Haha. If your daddy’s back allows it,” Hannah joked, seeing as Laurie sat next to them, moaning. He had to stay curved to hold Bess the whole time. The women laughed. 

  
  


“Bess seemed quite happy in the ice,” Amy noted back in Parnassus. “She didn’t want to take the skates off.” Laurie smiled, sitting in front of the fireplace, groaning in the process. 

“Aww,” she pouted playfully.

“It hurts.”

“You’ll live,” she went to peck him on the cheek.

“She should be able to be on her own next year,” Laurie said.

“Ok, come on. We have to put Bess to sleep…”

“Ugh she’ll want a story from Jo’s book. Why does she have to write such long tales?”

“It’s your best friend.”

“It’s your sister.”

“I didn’t have a choice. You did.”

He signed in resignation. “Alright. That’s fair.” He got up. “I’ll go.”

“I’ll wait for you,” she said, smirking.

“I shall read fast, then.” He caught his wife in a long kiss.

“Go!” She pushed him away, laughing.

“Daddy!”

“There’s my girl! You want one of Aunty Jo’s stories. Let’s see Bess’ Library,” he said, going to pick up the book. Amy and Laurie joked, but they were deeply touched when Jo presented Bess with a collection of stories written especially for her. They were so lucky to have all of them and each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> So apparently Louisa wrote three volumes of stories for May's daughter titled "Lulu's library". It's such a heartbreaking story, but also it's so sweet. May died a few weeks after Lulu's birth. May made all the provisions in case of her death and she decided that Louisa should take care of the baby. And she did up until her death. 
> 
> I think Amy developed a trauma after almost dying in that freezing river. And of course, she and Laurie were super protective of their girl. 
> 
> I'm going to get a little sappy now. It's New Year's Eve and I want to thank all the people who supported my stories. This was an unusually challenging year and this community helped me a lot. I especially want to thank @lovelacegls for being so kind and commenting on every single chapter. But honestly, to everyone who read/kudos/commented/etc., thank you.
> 
> @Lila_LilacFairy Thank you for your lovely one-shot. Here's one for you too :D
> 
> I hope you like it :D


End file.
